The wait for a Dragon’s Dogma sequel may have been a long one, but it’s finally about to come to an end. What started off as one of Capcom’s more niche properties has by now turned into a veritable cult classic, which means excitement for its upcoming follow-up is high. It helps, of course, that everything that we have seen of Dragon’s Dogma 2 thus far (and we’ve seen quite a bit) has looked incredibly promising. Now, with the open world action RPG not far away from launch, here, we’re going to go over a few key details you should know about it.
OPEN WORLD DETAILS
Coming more than a decade after its predecessor, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is obviously set to make several key improvements where its open world is concerned. The most obvious is its sheer size, with a map that’s going to be four times as large the first game, while on top of that, Capcom is also promising a completely seamless experience, which means you’ll never hit a loading screen while exploring the world’s different locations, dungeons, and what have you. Also new is a dynamic day/night cycle, with nighttime bringing its own unique obstacles and perils, while destructible environments also have the potential to lend more further dynamism to the world and the areas that you explore.
SIDE CONTENT
From everything Capcom’s said and shown so far, it’s clear that Dragon’s Dogma 2 is putting quite a bit of emphasis on optional content. There will, of course, be plenty of side quests that you’ll pick up while exploring and speaking to NPCs, but you can also expect a good amount of content tucked away that many are going to miss entirely. Speaking to IGN, lead game designer Kento Kinoshita said, “The map is just so big, and while there is level design, with places we want players to go in a certain order, there are still characters placed all the way off in a corner.”
WEAPON TYPES
Like its predecessor, variety in combat is going to be the name of the game in Dragon’s Dogma 2. That will manifest in several ways, with weapons being among the more prominent ones. From melee weapons like swords and daggers to ranged ones like bows, from magical ones like staffs to ones that combine different types in unique ways, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set to feature a variety of weapons, both new and familiar. Which of these you can use will, of course, be tied to what your Vocation is.
VOCATIONS
Vocations, which are essentially classes, are perhaps the single most crucial system in Dragon’s Dogma, given how significantly inform what kind of an experience you’re having. A number of these have been revealed for the sequel so far. These include the Fighter, which uses a sword and shield and specializes in melee combat; the staff-wielding Mage, which can use damage-dealing magic and cast spells to support or heal allies; and the Archer, which, as the name suggests, allows you to attack foes from afar using a bow and arrow.
MORE VOCATIONS
Let’s keep rolling with the Vocations, because there are plenty more to speak about. There is, for instance, the Thief, a Vocation that lets you use dual daggers and outsmart enemies with extreme mobility; the Sorcerer, a Vocation much better suited to unleashing destructive damage than the more support-focused Mage, but at the cost of requiring longer windows to cast spells; and the Warrior, for those who want to play as a strong, lumbering brute that can use massive two-handed weapons, like greatswords and hammers.
ARISEN-EXCLUSIVE VOCATIONS
Similar to Dragon’s Dogma 1, the sequel will also feature Hybrid Vocations that can only be used by the player character (aka the Arisen), as opposed to the rest, which can be used by Pawns as well (more on that in a bit). The Magick Archer returns from the first game, and allows you to combined ranged and magic attacks using a magic-infused bow and arrow. There’s the Trickster, a new Vocation that focuses on fighting enemies by conjuring illusions and smoke by using a unique weapon called the Censer. Though new, it will probably be at least somewhat familiar to those that used the Assassin Vocation in the first game. There’s also the Magick Spearhand, which puts a unique spin on the first game’s Mystic Knight Vocation, allowing you to combine melee and magic with a unique new weapon known as the duospear. Finally, there’s the entirely new class known as the Warfarer, which has the unique ability to use skills and attacks from each Vocation, but at the cost of lower base stats.
VOCATION MAISTERS
For those seeking mastery in whatever Vocation they decide to pick, Dragon’s Dogma 2 will allow you to seek out Vocation Maisters, who’re characters who have fully mastered their specific Vocation. Players will be able to deepen their relationship with individual Maisters, and doing so will not only allow you to gain access to their mastery of the Vocation, but also help you learn special, exclusive skills for that Vocation.
NEW RACE
While creating your character in Dragon’s Dogma 2, you’re going to be able to pick one of three races to play as, and though humans and elves are obviously familiar ones, an entirely new race is also being introduced in the form of the Beastren. As their name suggests, Beastren are humanoid beast-like beings covered entirely in fur. Hailing from the nation of Battahl, thanks to its harsh environs, the Beastren have a completely different culture to humans and elves that revolves around their empress and doesn’t hold Pawns and the Arisen in the high regard that others in the world do.
PAWNS
Pawns are, of course, going to be a critical part of Dragon’s Dogma 2, just as they were in the first game. These fully customizable AI-controlled party members will serve as your companions throughout your journey, with one of them being entirely your creation, and two more created by other players also joining your party. This time, Pawns will also have Specializations, a new feature that will give them unique attributes, like, for instance, being fluent in Elvish and helping translate it should you need it. Capcom has said it’s putting a greater emphasis on the personality and characterization of Pawns as well, from how they will grow and evolve through the experience to even their regular chatter.
DRAGONSPLAGUE
Another intriguing new mechanic that’s being introduced in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is Dragonsplague. Essentially, every time a Pawn created by you is used by another player, they’ll contract the Dragonsplague disease, which not only makes them stronger and more effective in combat, it also changes their personality by making them bolder and more brazen. The denizens of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s world believes that the terminal stages of Dragonsplague can lead to widespread calamity, and not just for the infected Pawns- though there’s some doubt over how accurate that belief is.
NO QUEST BOARDS OR MARKERS
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is going to try and ground players in its world in a number of ways, with one of the more prominent ones being how it’s eliminating a lot of the gamified tropes of the open world genre. For instance, there will be no quest boards or markers in the game. Instead, players will have to pay attention to, say, NPCs, how they’re behaving, and the things they’re saying. Paying attention to your Pawns, who can lead you to different quests in a variety of ways, will also be important.
JUST ONE SAVE SLOT
Creating multiple saves is almost a habit for a large number of those who regularly play open world games at this point, but sadly, Dragon’s Dogma 2 will not allow that. Like its predecessor, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is going to have just one single save slot, and that slot is going to be shared by both manual saves and autosaves.
ENEMIES AND BOSSES
Enemy variety is looking like it’s going to be another one of the game’s pillars. Already, Capcom has revealed a startling amount of creatures of all shapes and sizes that players will be able to fight in the game, each coming with unique strengths and weaknesses and demanding different strategies. This will include the likes of dragons, minotuars, wights, griffins, ogres, undead, golems, chimeras, goblins, and much, much more. You can, of course, also expect plenty of massive, ridiculously large-scale battles. One that has already caught the eye is Talos, a monstrously huge bronze giant that towers over mountains.
DYNAMIC EVENTS
Emergent gameplay is going to be the name of the game in Dragon’s Dogma 2, with Capcom promising a world where its many systems and mechanics will constantly be interacting to create entirely dynamic events that will almost feel scripted in nature. Speaking to EDGE magazine about one such experience he had while playing the game, director Hideaki Itsuno said, “It felt like a scripted event. But Dragon’s Dogma 2 doesn’t have scripted events. There are no invisible flags or triggers that cause certain events to occur. Everything that happened that day happened dynamically because of how the game’s rules and systems interact with one another.”
PC REQUIREMENTS
If you’re planning on playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 on a PC, you’re going to need a pretty beefy rig. On minimum settings, which will run the game at 1080p and 30 FPS, you’ll need either an i5 10600 or a Ryzen 5 3600, along with either a GeForce GTX 1070 or a Radeon RX 5500 XT. Meanwhile, to play on recommended settings, which will run the game at a 2160i resolution and 30 FPS, you’ll need either an i7-10700 or a Ryzen 5 3600X, along with either a GeForce RTX 2080 or a Radeon RX 6700. Finally, to play with ray tracing enabled, you’ll need either a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or a Radeon RX 6800. Meanwhile, on either setting, you’ll also need 16 GB of RAM.